Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127798
HAREScrambles Series " Round 6 Bear Valley Hare Scrambles SCRA~BLE ECEA:Hare 0 0 • (Left) KTMmounted Richard Lafferty tightened his grasp on the ECEA Hare Scrambles points lead with his overall win at the Bear Valley Hare Scrambles. (Below) After running third for much of the race, Craig Shenlgo suddenly found himself In second place when Jim Ott got stuck In the mud. Shenigo went on to finish .second overall. By Mark UthlTrall Rider Magazine GOOD SPRINGS, PA, AUG. 11 ichard Lafferty solidified his ECEA Hare Scrambles series ----,points lead wi th a come-frombehind overall victory at the Bear Valley Hare Scrambles. Up against a field that not only .included the normal contingent of ECEA racers, a considerable influx' of AMA District 6 Hare Scramblers spiced up the already - tight competition. Up for the challenge, Lafferty used the technical, enduro-like course to his best advantage, taking the lead from District 6 hare scrambler and current 250cc A points leader Jim Ott by the race's midpoint and managing to hold off all challenges mounted by ECEA rival Craig Shenigo. Afterward, Lafferty, who rolled into the pits late, just as the riders meenng concluded, commented, "I was a little unorganized at the onset as last night was our club's (Tricounty Sportsmen Me) summer picnic. Fortunately once I got out there and was having some fun, everything just fell into place." Run from a coal mine located in Good Springs, Pennsylvania, the threeev~nt card that included youth races, ATV action and the motorcycle main event attracted nearly 200 riders. Atmospheric conditions were near ideal with breezy clear skies and moderate temperatures in the low 80s. Noteworthy from a competition standpoint, the main event's field of top contenders was somewhat depleted, a result of the ISDE, as many top ECEA competitors were participating in Finland. For those in attendance, however, the sponsoring Reading Off-Road Riders laid out a relentless 7-mile course that traversed some of the gnarliest terrain to be found in central Pennsylvania. With a well-earned reputation as per- ----! Fortunately, the club had cut alternative lines into the foliage for much of the trail sections, facilitating passing action and preventing bottlenecks. In spite of this, however, several of the small stream crossings became rutted with bike-snatching holes, and even managed to trap some top riders. Similarly, one tricky uphill late in the lap was literally a quarter-mile-long chute of loose boulders and slick mud, on which a steady supply of stuck riders served to add to the carnage. The start was run from a fairly narrow section of mostly gravel road that began with a 75-yard sprint to the first turn. The first turn itself was a rocky, eroded switchback of nearly 180 degrees, replete with rain ruts, softballsize stones and a steep drop-off for anyone foolhardy enough to overshoot it. Racers were started by class at 30second intervals using the familiar "straddle the front wheel" technique. haps the toughest race in the series, the trail included constant boneyards, greasy soil conditions, numerous sneaky water obstacles and several formidable hill climbs strewn with loose shale and boulders. Although d';sty in the pits, the slickness of the shaded Appalachian highlands made mud more of a problem than dust. Overall, there was very little open trail, surely less than a mile through the entire loop. The rest of the ride was tight trail up and down the sharp hillsides of the overgrown coal pits and slag piles. (Left) XR250 rider Mark Hummel finished third overall. All Expert/ A-class riders were lumped together in the first row. At the sound of the gun, KTM 250-mounted Lafferty got the holeshot cleanly and assumed the lead, followed by District 6 hare scrambler Jim Ott and B&B Yahama-mounted Craig Shenigo. After the first turn, the course followed a rocky two-track for about a quarter of a mile before entering the woods. In this section, some anythinggoes, bar-banging action resulted in Ott getting around Lafferty for the early lead as the riders entered the tight woods that would last for the first third of the course. A Lafferty bobble helped Ott get